Who We Are
Hero’s Bridge is a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 organization dedicated to serving older veterans. We serve, stand by, and honor our veterans, age 65 and older, anywhere they live and at no expense to our heroes or their families. Hero’s Bridge was founded almost five years ago by our CEO Molly Brooks RN-BC, CHPCA to improve the quality of life of our region’s most at-risk senior veterans. We provide direct care to reduce social isolation, improve substandard housing and bridge them to vital long-term resources and benefits.
Hero’s Bridge knows aging veterans are at a higher risk for experiencing various diseases and disorders due to their service. Senior veterans are stoic, proud individuals who are unfamiliar with reaching out for assistance, so our mission is to serve them. We recognize the needs of those we serve are very different compared to those of their younger counterparts, and this is precisely why we specialize in providing services to this particular demographic.
Although there are many organizations which provide veterans assistance, we discovered most of these entities provide assistance to younger veterans. We identified needs very specific to veterans who served in World War II, Korea, and especially the Vietnam eras.
The framework for Hero’s Bridge was developed by individuals who are experienced in professional healthcare services in a home setting as well as assisted living, nursing home, and hospital environment. Many of the individuals we serve are predisposed to poor social outcomes such as loneliness, poor nutrition, and lack of proper assistance with their personal and medical care; all due to their time spent in the military.
Research has shown this particular group of veterans are predisposed to higher rates of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease due to their military career and exposures they experienced during their service, such as Agent orange. Our founders, through their personal and professional experiences, witnessed how these unique challenges affect this population and created this organization to help the aging veterans.
Hero’s Bridge offers distinct programs to assist with the most frequently found needs in this veteran population. We strive to improve outcomes in both elderly and younger veterans, simply by connecting younger veterans with older ones. This intergenerational approach yields an improved and more supportive existence for the volunteers and heroes we support. In essence we serve these veterans by creating a “bridge” to an improved quality of life.
What We Do
Hero’s Bridge serves elderly veterans aged 65 and older. As a nonprofit organization, we are proud to offer our programs at no cost to veterans and their families. We aim to serve, honor, and stand by our older heroes wherever they call home. Hero's Bridge nearly doubled its number of volunteer hours from 1,029 in 2021 to 2,101 in 2022.
Battle Buddy Program/ Hero's Helpers: Bridging volunteers and older veterans in a special model of care that decreases social isolation and increases advocacy. In 2022, the Battle Buddy program resulted on average 540 annual visits by staff and volunteers.
Home Front: Bridging our older heroes to healthy and safe housing conditions. In 2022, we performed 47 Home Front interventions: visits for yard clean-up, 5 critical home repairs, 5 miscellaneous repairs and 4 electrical repairs.
Honor Guard: Bridging our veterans to better mental health by facilitating a healthy processing of their time in service. Honor Guard interventions in 2022: 19 stories and/or local media stories, 11 socials held, 4 shadowboxes made with lost medals and awards replaced, 2 Guardians of Freedom portraits added to collection, 3 community exhibits, and 3 honor ceremonies.
Paw Patrol: Bridging veterans and animals to significantly reduce pain, anxiety, depression, and a variety of other issues. In 2022, we connected animals and heroes: 69 Paw Patrol visits, 5 pet supply donations, and 7 birdhouses maintained.
